I teach a digital media class at a middle school in Everett, Wash. In this class, students learn all about digital photography and video production, including photo composition, script writing and computer editing. In addition to creating projects based on their own ideas, the students photograph the daily activities occurring at the school and produce daily newscasts transmitted via closed...

Laptop provides lifeline for man paralyzed by ALS

After 20 years of living with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), David Jayne can’t speak and is immobile except for minimal facial movement.
But he’s able to communicate, drive his wheelchair, maintain his independence and control his environment — all thanks to his Toshiba Tecra laptop.

For Salome McCaffrey of Gulfport, Miss., four small fiber-optic switches have opened the door to a whole new world of mobility and communication.
Salome, 24, who has spinal muscular atrophy and almost no independent movement, spends at least 16 hours a day on her computer surfing the Internet, sending e-mails, playing games, writing stories and painting — none of which would be possible without...